Woman 'in Shock' Upon Learning She's Pregnant with Quadruplets After Going to Doctor for Sore Throat

On April 1, Katelyn Yates went to the hospital with a sore throat, but she left with more news: she’s pregnant with quadruplets!

In an interview with TodayThe 20-year-old caregiver from Illinois explained that it all started when she arrived at the emergency room with a sore throat and was told she needed an X-ray to figure out what was wrong. But before she gets it, she’ll have to take a pregnancy test, because radiation can be harmful to fetuses.

When she got her results back, her human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) level — a hormone produced by the placenta during pregnancy — was “out of range,” she was told.

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Katelyn Yates, with her fiance, after giving birth to her quadruplets.

Katelyn Yates

“I was in complete shock,” Yates told the newspaper, adding that she thought the doctor was playing a joke on her, given that it was April Fool’s Day.

She adds that her current fiancé, Julian Bueker (21), with whom she had only been in a relationship for six months at the time, was “so excited” and kept her calm.

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Baby Max.

Baby Elliott. Baby Max. PHOTO:

Katelyn Yates

Baby Elliott. PHOTO:

Katelyn Yates

Yates continued with the pregnancy, which proved to be complicated. She was eventually diagnosed with preeclampsia, which can cause long-term high blood pressure after 20 weeks.

“I couldn’t breathe on my own,” Yates said, adding that during her third trimester, her liver and kidneys also began to fail.

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Baby Elizabeth.

Baby Zya. Baby Elizabeth. PHOTO:

Katelyn Yates

Baby Zya. PHOTO:

Katelyn Yates

Then, on October 17, at 28 weeks and 4 days, Yates gave birth to quadruplets: Elizabeth Taylor, Zyu Grace, Max Ashton, and Elliot Ryker (the latter two are identical twins, according Today). The babies were born at HSHS St. John in Springfield, Ill., by C-section. Yates said that of all the babies, Elizabeth was the smallest, weighing 1 lb., 2 oz., while Max, the largest of them, weighed 2 lb., 6 oz.

Now, “they are doing phenomenally. They’re getting fat and growing,” Yates said Today. “Elizabeth is about six grams away from 2 lbs.”

“It’s amazing to me how well they’re doing,” Yates added. “Just a few weeks ago they were the size of my hand.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education